Outside GHQ: the union democratization movement in occupied Japan 1947–1948

The Japanese people played a much more important role in shaping events during the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945-1952) than is often recognized. This article examines the movement for democratization of the labor unions in order to demonstrate the extent to which the Japanese shaped their own destiny. Domestic politics is often overlooked due to an emphasis on the start of the Cold War in this period. Indeed, US policy is usually given the predominant role in narratives of the period and is blamed for the decline of mass movements such as the labor movement but an examination of the evidence for Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) involvement in the period reveals that the Occupation authorities, especially those in the General Headquarters (GHQ) of SCAP, played a much smaller role than has been alleged.